School Board Appreciation Week Begins January 21

January 4, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Governor Bill Haslam has declared January 21-28, 2018 as School Board Appreciation Week in Tennessee.

“This week helps build awareness and understanding of the vital functions our locally elected boards of education play in our community,” said Haslam.

The DeKalb County School System is joining public school districts from across the state to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week and honor local board members for their commitment to DeKalb County and its children.

“The school system is the backbone of our community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child”, said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps.

“There is no greater honor that can be bestowed upon a citizen than membership on a local board of education. They spend countless hours studying the issues and regulations and make the tough decisions when called upon to ensure the type of accountability people expect,” he said.

Director Cripps said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by: Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority; Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do; Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels; Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results; Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach; Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.

͞”Our local school board shapes the future of education in DeKalb County by influencing the high-quality of education that our children and youth receive. The DeKalb County school board shows its commitment to educational excellence and equity and for that we are very grateful for their attitude of service,” said Cripps

The members serving our district are as follow
First District: Danny Parkerson
Second District: Jerry Wayne Johnson
Third District: Jim Beshearse
Fourth District: Kate Miller
Fifth District: W.J. (Dub) Evins, III
Sixth District: Doug Stephens
Seventh District: Shaun Tubbs

January 4, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

The Tennessee Department of Transportation still has plans to improve Highway 56 south in DeKalb County and into Warren County but construction is months away and will be done in three phases instead of two once it gets underway.

Plans for this overall project have been in the making for more than ten years.

Originally, TDOT planned to build a new four- lane highway from south of the Warren County line (in Warren County) to near Magness Road in DeKalb County but later changed the plans to a new two-lane road (typical section) with twelve foot lanes and ten foot paved shoulders and passing lanes along the 3.30 mile existing alignment.

TDOT’s plans still call for a new two-lane but the highway could eventually be expanded to four-lanes in the future.

“In the 3.3 mile section from south of the Warren County line to Magness Road TDOT will build two lanes of the future four-lane. We already acquired the property necessary to construct the four-lane road, and as future traffic warrants, TDOT will construct the remaining two lanes. As soon as the new Environmental Document is complete, we can let this section to contract,” Jennifer Flynn, TDOT Community Relations Officer told WJLE Thursday.

The second phase of the project is tentatively scheduled for a bid letting later this year.

“State Route 56 from near Magness Road to East Bryant Street in Smithville has property already acquired for a four-lane divided highway. We will build two lanes and as we approach town, tie to the existing five-lane. This project will have stream mitigation issues that we are trying to resolve now. This project is scheduled for a late 2018 construction letting,” said Flynn.

Meanwhile, a new section has been added to the project.

“We will add a new section south of the first project that will be a 1.3 mile widening project from near State Route 287 to south of the Warren County line. This will be included in the new Environmental Document. We will need to update survey data and start the preliminary plans. This section will have 30 to 35 tracts of property to acquire, and our Project Development Director said that it will likely be a stand alone project due to time to acquire the property and develop plans,” Flynn said.

January 3, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

DEKALB COUNTY SCHOOLS TO REMAIN CLOSED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY DUE TO COLD WEATHER

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